July 2009 Archives

Now available, Wine Secrets: Advice from Winemakers, Sommeliers, and Connoisseurs, featuring illustrations I completed earlier in the year.

From a customer review:

The book is a portable hardcover gem that provides the perfect level of detail for any newcomer or lazy novice (like myself). If you feel at all intimidated by some of the more expansive standards like Zraly and Parker, this book is your launching point.

Written by Marnie Old, published by Quirk Books, designed by Bryn Ashburn and Jenny Kraemer.

ON THE NAMING OF THIS BLOG

flyover states/flyover country
Americanisms describing the region of the United States west of the Delaware River/Delmarva Peninsula and east of California’s Central Valley. The terms are often used in a pejorative sense. They are references to the regions of the country passed over during inter-coastal flights—e.g., flights between the nation’s two largest cities, New York City and Los Angeles. Flyover country thus refers to the part of the country that some Americans only view by air and never actually see in person at ground level. (description via Wikipedia)

An enlightened commenter on flyover states (via Urban Dictionary):

states in the middle of the country that are uncool and call soda ‘pop.’ these states have lots of farmland and stupid people and shit like that.

estate
1 : an area or amount of land or property
2 : (dated) a particular class or category of people in a society
3 : a particular state, period, or condition in life

Ohio is a flyover state. It’s where I live and work. Also, we grow a lot of corn here.